What's so important about the LA Rams getting hot late in 2023, anyways?

Reason II: Developing players will never be all or nothing

Another key and often overlooked component of a successful NFL team is the fact that winning consistently requires great chemistry among players, and that level of chemistry does not happen instantly. In fact, it's a slow and tedious trek beset with potholes and setbacks. Any learning that integrates trial and error as its basis will suffer the occasional error.

Nature has a way of using stress and setback to forge strength. Bones that are broken and reset heal stronger than the original. Muscles that are pushed to the brink grow stronger over time. Reflexive skills, requiring consistent focus, eventually create their own neural pathways to become second-nature, almost instinctively reacting with no thought.

Competition is a one-way street

Over the course of a football player's career, there is a narrow trek to the top of the mountain. Players who excel in high school compete for college scholarships. Those who are awarded scholarships continue the climb, while those who do not earn that free ticket often must surrender their football dreams. For college football players, they compete for fewer NFL opportunities.

But it is never instantaneous. College players have several years to perfect their craft to attract NFL interest. Rookies have a four-year team friendly contract to establish themselves among the ranks of professional football players. Right now, the Rams are still reorganizing in Year 1 of a multi-year refurbish plan.

Of the Rams 14 drafted and one undrafted rookie, the team has at least six starters already starting and achieving at a high level. But more are on their way. If you look at the Rams' depth chart, many of the team's starters are playing on their rookie contract. Young players need time to develop.